


Beginning of the end

by Pennylane1982



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2015-10-27
Packaged: 2018-04-28 11:36:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5089226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pennylane1982/pseuds/Pennylane1982
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU version of Goblet of Fire, where another famed Quidditch player competes in the Goblet of Fire instead of Cedric Diggory</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back to the start

Back to the start

It was a typical busy Monday morning at the London office of the Amour Federation: a organisation that had been running in various forms for hundreds of years. Despite it being barely nine o'clock when Martina Henderson seated herself at her desk outside the head of Europe Bella Patterson's office on the twenty seventh floor, she had already been at work for nearly a hour. Martina had been sitting in Bella's meeting with the heads of the German, French, Italian, Romanian and Austrian divisions. She had just started typing up the notes, when the glass doors at the end of the corridor opened, and a slightly tense looking Alexander strode through. The usually very calm and laidback man looked agitated and tired, he was carrying a thick blue binder in one hand and speaking to someone on the phone. “I'm sorry sweetheart, I can't get away right now, but I promise you I will come and join you as soon as I can.” Whoever was on the other end of the line, was obviously mollified as he said “I love you too,” before snapping the phone shut with a sigh.  
“Good morning.” Martina smiled at him, as he came closer to the desk. She was half expecting him to stop and chat, as was usual. He was one of the more friendly division heads, and would have a laugh with his employees.  
“Good morning Martina.” He smiled back, although the worry still glimmered in his almond shaped light blue eyes. “I can't stop. Is she in?” he pointed to the polished oak door behind her, that bore a metal plaque saying Bella Patterson.  
“Yes she's...” the rest of her sentence went unfinished as Alexander pushed open the heavy door and entered unannounced.  
“You know, you might be my boss but you can still show me the courtesy of knocking.” Bella commented dryly. She had been reading through a stack of new recruit files trying to make a final decision and didn't look up.  
“Sorry but I need you to check something out for me.” He said.  
“Okay what is it?” She asked, setting the files aside as she heard the anxiety in his voice.  
“I had a really disturbing phone call from Melosa. She's been having visions of the Little Hangleton graveyard. Last night she saw Voldemort there with Peter Pettigrew, Rory was there too with Harry Potter.” He took a deep breath, forcing himself to continue. “Voldemort came back, and killed my daughter, because she helped Harry escape.” The thought of losing either of his children was Alexander's worst nightmare, and he had to sit down. The certainty in Melosa's voice, and the fact that she had been right so many times before, had driven him to come and see Bella. Melosa had inherited the ability to see the future from her father, and it was becoming stronger and more accurate with each passing year.  
Bella swallowed her surprise and sorrow at the thought of her half sister getting killed. Her mother and Alexander had had a long and complicated relationship, and had encouraged Amy and Bella to look out for Catalina, who was more than ten years their junior. She had grown to really care for the bouncy and curious little girl. “But Mel gets things wrong. You told me that the future is always subjective right?” she crossed to him, laying one hand on his shoulder, startled to see the visible shaking of his lithe frame.  
“Yeah. Yes it is.” He admitted.  
“Well this time we'll change it. I have a team stationed in Little Hangleton, they've been observing the Riddle house, and making sure that nobody strange is coming or going.” Bella said, “I put them in place when the caretaker Frank Bryce disappeared. If Rory does by some strange trick of fate arrive in Little Hangleton, they will protect her.”  
“Who's in place?” Alexander asked, feeling a little better, at hearing Bella's efficiency.  
“Apollo, Gaius and Jupiter.” She replied, as she poured them both a cup of coffee, from her little kitchen area. “They're good men, and they've experience of dealing with wizards. Gaius's a graduate from Costa's Institute in Naples, and the other two came very highly recommended, they used to work in the Auror department of the Bulgarian ministry.”  
“Does your mother trust them?” He asked, he had always trusted Andrea's judgement more than his own. He accepted the cup of coffee from her gratefully, letting the warmth of the cup seep through his slightly chilled digits.  
“Yes.” Bella said, without a shred of doubt. “She hired them.” Settling herself back on the couch, she took a long sip of her black coffee. “Have you told Rory what Mel saw?”  
“No. No. I'm not going to scare her with a possibility, especially now.” He said “She's having one of the best summers of her life, playing in Mexico, I just hope that all those professional players don't streamroll her.” He wasn't sure that allowing her to take part in a tournament with hundreds of others was the wisest decision, considering that her special abilities included feeling other's emotions as her own. But his daughter had been determined to have the opportunity to play with top flight players, and really seemed to have the ability under control.  
“She seems to be holding her own. I've been following the tournament in the Prophet's sports section.” Bella confessed, pushing one lock of her ash blonde hair back into the bun. “Besides I'm sure that between them she and Amy can keep anyone in check.” She remembered all too clearly how protective Amy had been of her little sister. She had even gone so far as to punch the local bully right in the mouth, because he had made a six year old Catalina cry. He had never bothered either sister again.  
“Yes you're probably right as usual.” Alexander drained the last of his coffee, setting the empty cup down on the low ebony table before him. “I'd better be going. I have to call in at a friend's before I head to L.A to meet up with Ames and Rory.”  
“They're going back to L.A?” Bella asked, as she stood at the same time as Alexander did, smoothing out the wrinkles of her black A line skirt.  
“Yes. Amy wants to introduce Rory to Rascal's.” He replied. Bella smiled, she was very familiar with the diner, from her previous visits to L.A, both for assignments and for pleasure. She and Amy had spent quite a few hours there, talking about their rubbish relationships and rubbish jobs. “Thank you for...”  
“No thanks necessary. I'd do anything to help you three out, you know that,” they walked slowly to the door. “God knows you've helped me and mum out enough times over the years.” Alexander smiled, he had always been very fond of her mother. He saw a lot of her in her daughter, Bella was just as strong willed, and he had no doubt that the vast amounts of courage that she possessed would have been part of her character even if she hadn't happened to be invulnerable to any bodily injury.  
Her mother Andrea was still a bit of a legend in the Federation, despite the fact she had been retired from active duty for the last seven years. Her fierce devotion to the people of Europe, and her determination to always be fair to her employees had led to some blazing rows with the other division heads, but she had usually been right and wrought massive changes in the structure of the organisation, as well as battling some very scary foes during her eight years of duty. “I don't think your mum needs anyone to help her. She's still enjoying life in Yorkshire I take it?” he was still amused by the fact that his second in command, was content to live on a farm in the North. She seemed to have taken to it instantly though, her letters had started to reference milking cows, feeding chickens and grooming horses.  
“Yeah. She's loving it, but she's not too happy about the fact that the World Cup is being held in the field a stone's throw from her house.” Bella told him. She had received more than a few annoyed emails and phone calls from her mother over the last couple of months, ever since the official site of the upcoming World Cup had been announced.  
“Oh so she's still living with George Payne then?”  
“They're still sickeningly happy and actually got engaged last month.” Bella smiled, her mother's delight over having George in her life in a permanent way had been evident in her voice when she had phoned. “I couldn’t go to the party because of that meta human in Vienna, but it sounds like they had a great time,”  
Alexander was surprised, that Andrea hadn't told him that she had become engaged, and a stab of hurt hit him that his old friend hadn't wanted to phone him after such a major and very happy development in her life. He had thought that they had both got over the hurt that had been inflicted on both sides, during their turbulent romance but she clearly hadn't let go, despite having found happiness with someone else. “Well I'd better go.” he gathered himself “Tell your mum I said congratulations.”  
“I will.” Bella wanted to say something to assuage the hurt she had seen flash across his face but she couldn't find the words, and knew it was a matter that he had to work out with her mother. The relationship between the two was so complex that Bella didn't fully understand it, even after watching them interact for the last twenty six years. “Give my love to Amy and Rory.” He nodded, and turned on the spot disappearing from the office. Once he had disapparated Bella went back to her desk, grabbing her phone as she had some very important calls to make.


	2. Mad about the boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catalina discusses her summer with her sister, and then goes to Cedric's.

Mad about the boy  
“So what is really going on for you?” Amy Crosley stirred her second hazelnut latte, her soft brown eyes were fixed on her younger sister Catalina who sat opposite, nursing her third mint mocha. The two had come straight to Rascal's diner from the airport after their flight up from Mexico, not even stopping to drop their stuff at Amy's home in the Hollywood Hills. Rascal's wasn't exactly the classiest place, there were framed posters of former stars like Frank Sinatra, Rita Heyworth, Marilyn Monroe and Otis Redding on the wall, but apart from that it looked like any slightly dingy cafe, however it had become Amy's favourite place to come for a girly gossip, mainly because of the incredible cakes. The sisters had spent the last couple of hours chatting about Amy's promotion, her new house in Phoenix, the relocation of their friend Bella Patterson, and Catalina's successful tryout for the Italian National squad, but now with their coffees replenished as well as purchasing two slices of the most decadent triple chocolate cake Catalina had ever seen, they were ready to delve into the important stuff, their love lives. “Every time I turned around you were hanging out with Viktor, are you two a proper couple now?” the elfin brunette took a long sip of her drink but kept her gaze on her sister as she waited for the answer.  
Catalina shifted her weight on the overstuffed red vinyl seat, as she felt her bare calves starting to stick to the material. She was wearing the red Capris that had been a birthday present from her 'second' mum and dad Amos and Jasmine Diggory, Cedric's parents. “No. Viktor's a great friend but he's not exactly boyfriend material, for me anyway.”  
“What about Cedric?” Amy asked. Catalina's cheeks flushed and she hesitated, “Oh come on Rory. It's been obvious for years that the poor boy is head over feet for you.” The twenty four year old pushed a thick lock of her red streaked hair back as she spoke. God knows why she keeps the boy around, I mean he's so dull. I could understand if she hooked up with Oliver or Dean, they at least have energy and passion about them, but Cedric seems too quiet and restrained for her.  
“I do love Cedric, and I think he is what I want in a boyfriend. He's just as passionate about things as I am, and has the purest soul of any human I’ve ever met.” She sighed “I just hope that he is still interested in taking our relationship up a notch after all the nonsensical articles that Skeeter woman wrote.”  
“Still interested?” But that implies that he's been interested. “Has something happened between the two of you?”  
“Um...” she mumbled, taking a bite of her cake. Catalina wasn't sure that she was ready to spill the secrets of the summer to her big sister.  
I can't believe how shy she is about sex. I don't think I was ever quite as innocent as that. But then again dad's not exactly the best one to turn to for sex advice. Thank god I had Sara. She thought, and then glanced over at Catalina, trying to gauge by her expression whether the younger girl had heard her thoughts. Catalina had developed the ability to hear thoughts by the age of four, and had it under complete control now.  
Catalina always tried to ignore Amy's thoughts, turning them down like the volume level on a radio, as she knew how much her elder sister hated having that particular ability used on her. “Whatever happened I'm sure it's something I've either done, or I know somebody who has done it.” Amy said, she had always been sexually experimental and open minded. “Nothing you and Cedric could have got up to would really surprise me.”  
“Okay we had a very drunken night, eventually making it home at five in the morning, and um...” she rubbed her nose with her right hand, trying to think of the right way to phrase what she wanted to say. Then she took a long drink of her coffee, buying herself some more thinking time.  
“You slept together.” Amy said, smiling at her sister's nervousness. A bright red flush had spread itself over the younger girl's high cheekbones at Amy's matter of fact words, and she was glad that she had swallowed her mouthful of coffee, otherwise she would have spit it all over the Formica. “Oh come on Rory, if you're old enough to do it, then you're old enough to talk about it.” She passed her a fork, only now noticing that Catalina hadn't received one when they had got their cake. “Was it good? My first time was a little quick.”  
“We didn't actually get that far,” The slender blonde confessed as she lay the fork down at the side of her plate, “I was really drunk, and Cedric was even worst off. We just kissed a few times and then he passed out.” She blushed “But then we tried again the night after, and that was a lot better. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it did when I slept with Richard.” Richard Kingsley was a Muggle who had been Catalina's first real boyfriend.  
“It usually does hurt when you lose your virginity, but it's like anything it gets easier with practice.” Amy ate another mouthful of cake.  
“Well by the end of the week we were pretty well practised,” Catalina's fair cheeks flushed as she recalled some of the more private moments of the week she had been able to spend with Cedric.  
“So what happened after? I mean you had to be in Mexico at pretty short notice.”  
“Yeah. I got the letter three days after my birthday and I was supposed to be on the plane that afternoon. Mr Reyes included my ticket in the envelope.” Catalina cut off a chunk of her cake, popping it into her mouth. “Oh god, now I know why you love this place so much.” She gasped, after she had eaten it.  
“The pastries are fantastic aren't they? The first year I was here, I put on about a stone because the cakes were so helpful in getting over many a rough day.” Amy smiled at her sister's expression. Catalina's eyes had flickered shut, and she had let out a blissful sigh as soon as the chocolate sponge hit her tongue. “I take it you're another convert to the cult of Rascal's.”  
“Oh definitely.” Catalina nodded. “In fact we should order another couple of slices.” Amy waved to her permatanned friend Jack Hopkins, one of the waiters, and ordered more cake for them both, and another cup of coffee.  
“What's happened since?” Amy asked once Jack had supplied them with more coffee and cake, and disappeared back behind the counter. She was very curious, as this was the first time that she and Catalina had had a serious chat about boys. Catalina had never really seemed that bothered in dating, she had been firmly a tomboy throughout her childhood. It was only during the last few years that Amy had noticed the changes in her, changing from the awkward, gangly child into a pretty teenager.  
“He's been very slow at replying to my letters. I think all the Rita Skeeter stuff might have hurt him.” Catalina sighed, cutting herself a large forkful of cake.  
“You don't know that he's seen any of it.” Amy said, trying to reassure her. “He could just be busy spending time with... what's the name of their neighbours? The ones with ginger hair?” She had only met the Diggories three times in person, but had been to their home once four years before, when her visit to England happened to coincide with Catalina's summer holidays. She had bumped into one of the neighbour's children: a lanky boy around Catalina's age, in the village papershop.  
“You mean the Weasleys. No I doubt it, the twins are our age but Ced doesn't really get on with them.” Catalina replied, once she had swallowed properly. “Besides Amos has been a subscriber to the Prophet since we were seven. It's very unlikely Ced hasn't seen the articles, and they're all painting me and Viktor as... as...” she struggled for a couple to compare them to.  
“The Britney and Justin of the Quidditch world?” Amy suggested smirking. Catalina laughed, throwing a screwed up paper napkin at her sister. “Well if he's not replying to your letters, why don't you go and surprise him?” she asked, wiping her mouth with another napkin to remove the chocolate from her lips.  
“No that would really freak him out, he just needs time to sort out what he wants. I'll see him when I go to the World Cup.” Catalina said, before finishing off her drink. “It should be a lot of fun, a lot of my friends from Hogwarts are going too.”  
“How did you get a ticket? Liam practically had to take out a second mortgage just to get me a ticket, and I have connections with governments all over the world.” Amy asked, signalling to Jack for another top up of her coffee.  
“Viktor gave me a ticket, at the party to celebrate the end of the tournament. He was given four for friends and family, seeing as he's part of the Bulgarian team.” Catalina said, taking a sip of her own refilled coffee. “Who's Liam?” that name was unfamiliar.  
“Oh Fitzwilliam Holmes. He's the newest recruit to my task force.” Amy replied. “He only became a full operative last month, and is already fitting right in. He works mainly with Fidier and Edward, down in New Mexico.”  
“How did you find him?” Catalina was curious.  
“I found him in Chicago. He was being attacked by a Jeinate, who was interested in absorbing his ability.” Jeinates had the ability to take other's physical and mental abilities by touch, and were the one thing that every new recruit to the ILA was trained to recognise. “I was tracking it along with the local chapter and saved him.”  
“Is he cute?” She could feel the waves of pleasure and shyness coming from her sister as Amy talked about Fitzwilliam.  
“Yeah. He's very cute, but he's a employee who's just finding his feet.” Amy said “I have to set a example, seeing as I'm the head of the operation.”  
“I have to nip to the toilet, where are they?” Catalina could feel that her bladder was close to bursting from the large amount of liquid she had consumed.  
“Oh to the right of the counter. You can't miss them.” Amy told her. Catalina smiled gratefully before sliding from the booth and going in search of them. She had only been gone for a few seconds when her phone started ringing. Amy reached into her sister's linen jacket, retrieving her mobile from the left pocket. She recognised the number flashing instantly. “Hi Dad.” she decided to answer it, and see where her father was. “I thought you were getting here about half a hour ago?”  
“Yeah I know. The meeting with Bella took longer than I thought it would.” Alexander replied. Amy could hear the roar of the traffic in the background. “I'm in Los Angeles now though and walking up to Rascal's.”  
“You didn't fancy renting a convertible then?” Amy smiled, remembering one of her father's oft stated dreams, of driving down the Californian freeways in a convertible.  
“Nah. That's for when I have more time.” Alexander replied. “Where's Rory?”  
“She's nipped to the toilet, we've drunk nearly our body weight in coffee this morning.”  
“What have you been talking about?” He was a little nervous that Catalina might have picked something up from Melosa, as he knew that the three of them had spent a little bit of time together. Amy and Catalina had called in at the Mexico City offices, as the tournament had been held just outside the city.  
“We've been chatting about the important stuff, boys, new friends, stuff like that.” Amy told him, as Catalina came out of the toilet. The younger girl seemed to be completely oblivious to the lustful stare directed her way by a burly redhaired boy in the booth nearest the front door, but Amy clocked him. His eyes were practically falling out of his head as he watched Catalina cross the black and white lino. “Hey she's here now. It's dad,” she handed the phone over.  
“Hey dad, are you nearly here?” Catalina's question was redundant, as at that moment the little bell over the door rang, and Alexander pushed his way inside. He chatted briefly to the dark haired waitress, ordering a coffee and then crossed the small diner's lino floor to join his daughters.  
“Hi girls.” He kissed both of them on the cheek before sliding into the booth next to Catalina. “I see you weren't joking about the caffeine intake,” He noted the numerous empty cups that were present on the tabletop, caffeine addiction ran in the family though, one of the many things that he had passed onto the girls. “You're practically vibrating.”  
“Oh that's just off the sugar high.” Amy said dismissively, she polished off the remains of her cake and then felt slightly sick. She hadn't eaten two slices in one sitting since she was studying for her final exams in History.  
“Okay then.” He turned to face his other daughter, “I stopped off at the Diggories' place before coming to meet you. Cedric's really missed you, and he asked me to apologise for him. He's been unable to write back as often as he'd like because Amos has needed the owl a lot for business.”  
Catalina felt incredibly relieved to hear that, at least she knew that Cedric could still be considering becoming her boyfriend. “Oh is that because of the World Cup, a lot of people bringing their pets with them?” she inquired, taking another sip of her mocha.  
“Yeah. Apparently it's been a mad few months for him.” Alexander had felt sorry for his friend, after seeing the huge bags beneath his eyes. He knew that Amos wasn't really made to survive on less than eight hours. The two men had been friends at Hogwarts, and Alexander remembered many mornings of nearly getting his head bitten off at breakfast because Amos's sleep had been disturbed. “Are you coming to the World Cup with us?” He asked Amy. The brunette nodded, she was still feeling nauseous and didn't trust herself to open her mouth. “Right well why don't you two go and grab your stuff while I pay the bill?”  
The sisters slipped out of the booth, heading out the back door of the diner. Amy's vintage car was parked around the corner in it's usual spot. “I told you that he wouldn't be angry with you. How could he be?” Amy commented as she unlocked the boot. Catalina reached in, pulling her duffel out and seizing the strap of Amy's haversack.  
“Yeah you called it.” Catalina said, “So we've throughly dissected me and Cedric, is there anyone on the horizon for you?”  
“Nah.” Amy snorted. “I'm just having fun, now that Michel's properly out of my life.”  
“You don't want to see him at all?” Catalina asked tentatively, her former brother in law was a sensitive topic, and she was still unsure what had exactly happened there. Amy enjoyed listening to others' problems and dispensing advice but wasn't interested in letting others advise her, and it was usually better to leave it alone until she asked for help.  
“No honey, I'm looking for a handsome bloke, with a sense of humour, a passionate nature and a drive to succeed. So pretty much Michel's total opposite.”  
“Okay the bill's paid. Let's go!” Alexander said from behind them.  
Amy placed her sunglasses in a resting place on top of her head, and looked at them quizzically. “Oh no we're not apparating are we?”  
“Yeah. It's a lot quicker, and Amos is already expecting us.” Alexander reached out, taking both of his daughters by the hand, and turned on the spot. All three vanished from the sun drenched stretch of concrete.


	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cedric and Catalina discuss their changing relationship

Home  
Amy felt even sicker when they rematerialised on a gently rolling hill, despite the warmth of the mid afternoon sunlight, and the cool breeze that swirled around her. “That's definitely not a good idea after two slices of cake and about six coffees.” She could feel the chunks rising in her throat, and was more than a little annoyed that Catalina didn't seem to be bothered. The younger girl looked excited about the prospect at being back in England, and her attention was directed to the next hill. “How come you're not on the verge of vomit? You had more coffee than me.” Her father was rubbing her back in rhythmic circles, as she bent over, bracing her hands on her knees as she fought against the urge to throw up.  
“I've had more than that in my stomach before apparation before.” Catalina replied, as she held out a small bottle of water that she had dug out of her bag. Amy drank deeply from the bottle, willing her stomach to stop rolling, and watched as her sister set off at a brisk pace to the large old farmhouse that sat on the top of the next hill.  
“Whose house is that?” Amy asked her father in a low tone.  
“It's Amos's place. I thought you'd been here before,” he took the bottle of water from her, taking a swig himself and then sticking it into his bag.  
“Only for about a hour, nearly five years ago. I just picked Rory up to take her to the station.” Amy replied.  
“Hurry up!” Catalina called back, she was nearly two hundred metres ahead of them, her eagerness to see Cedric and his family again making her pace quite brisk. The other two quickened their own pace, and caught her up at the neatly cut hedge. “Isn't it beautiful?” she asked, “Amos does it all himself.” Amy had to admit that the garden was beautiful, it was a riot of colour, with red roses, white lilies, bright sunny yellow tulips, clumps of lavender, pink peonies, clematis and daffodils all competing for space. “That's new.” She remarked, pointing to the yellow roses that grew up over the trellis standing at the side of the door.  
“They were Ced's idea. He said something about them being his favourite flower.” Mr Diggory's deep gravelly voice came from behind them. He had been returning from the village shop with the milk and eggs, when he spotted the motionless DiVitas. He hadn't expected them to come so soon, after Alexander's brief visit, but was very pleased to see Catalina. He was hoping that she might actually get his son out of the fit of the sullens that had consumed Cedric since she left.  
“Hi Amos.” Catalina hugged the older man. She had missed him and his wife almost much as she had missed Cedric. “Where's Jasmine?”  
“She's in her studio, working on another masterpiece.” He led the way into the kitchen, and put the groceries away as the other two seated themselves at the battered oak table. Catalina made some coffee for herself, her father and Amos, one look at Amy's slightly green face told her that her sister wouldn't be drinking it for a while.  
“Your wife's a painter?” Amy inquired, sipping at the water that her sister had passed to her.  
“No she's a photographer.” Amos told her.  
“She's amazing, kind of like the Annie Leibovitz of the wizarding world.” Catalina informed her sister proudly. Jasmine had been snapping photographs since Cedric was born, and she had garnered quite a lot of work. She tended to freelance, and worked for publications in the Muggle world as well.  
“I dabble a little.” Jasmine Diggory appeared at the kitchen door, her dark hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and wearing a oversized t shirt and leggings. “Amos why didn't you call me?” despite her rumpled appearance, the tall woman had aair of no nonsense about her. She crossed the room with a quick light step, hugging Catalina warmly. “I'm glad to see you Rory. Maybe now Cedric will pick himself up. He's been quite down in the dumps this summer.”  
“Is he still asleep?” she asked, sipping at her coffee with a studied nonchalance that all the others saw straight through.  
“Yes. Why don't you go and wake him up?” Amos suggested.  
“Okay.” She stood, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden and started towards the door, only after receiving a supportive smile from her big sister.  
“Give him this.” He handed a steaming hot cup of coffee to her, and watched smiling as she left the kitchen immediately.  
Catalina made her way up the curved stair case, her footsteps muffled by the thick blue carpet. Her eyes drawn to the many family photographs that hung on the landing, they were all moving as was typical with wizarding photos, there were pictures of Cedric in every stage of development. She smiled, watching the one of him riding his first broom at two years old, his tiny face was alive with pleasure, and he was clearly laughing as his concerned father watched on. The photo hung on the light peach wall between her room and Cedric's. His door was adorned with a simple plaque announcing Cedric's room. Keep out! He had affixed it when they were eight and kept forgetting to take it down. Catalina smoothed her hair with her free hand, feeling stupid about how nervous she felt. Oh come on. It's only Cedric, the bloke you've known since you were five. It's not a big deal, just open the door. She thought. When she pushed open the door, she saw that Cedric lay wrapped securely in a nest of blankets, all that was visible was a shock of his thick sandy blonde hair sticking up from under his duvet. She smiled, relieved that some things had clearly not changed. His light yellow walls were still plastered with images of his favourite Quidditch team, the Huckley Harriers, and photos of her and his parents sat on his bedside table. She leaned over, shaking his shoulder through his cream duvet, he grumbled something, clearly still in the grip of his dreams. “It's time to get up Ced.” She said softly.  
“What... You... When?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to determine if she was really here or if it was a continuance of his dream. “Are you really... I thought you...”  
“It's good to see some things haven't changed. You're definitely still not at your best in the mornings.” She smiled, sitting down on the side of his bed, and handing him a cup of coffee. “Your dad sent this up for you. Guaranteed to get anyone going.” The strong aroma hurt his nose, and he set it aside, putting it onto his bedside table.  
“I thought you were still in America. When did you get here?” he asked, grabbing the clothes he had left on his chair before he went to sleep. He hastily dressed, not bothered about her seeing him, as they had shared a room as children, and he was far past the point of being self conscious in her presence. She was very tanned and her chestnut hair had been lightened in the sun, since he had last seen her at the end of June.  
“I got here about three hours ago. Amy, dad and I decided to go to the World Cup instead of Lollapalooza. So we apparated here from a diner in LA.” She told him. He looked her up and down, taking in the changes to her personal style. He had never seen her dressed like that before, as well as the Capris she was wearing a off white backless top that emphasised her bronzed skin. Her usually unruly mass of hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail. “I know it's not really me, but now that I'm in the public eye in this world as well as the Muggle one, it makes sense to dress a little smarter than I have in the past, or so my agent says.” She plucked nervously at the hem of her top, exposing a sliver of toned belly to his gaze “Do I look stupid?” she asked, glancing up at him. She valued his opinion, and knew he would always tell her the truth as he saw it.  
“It's different, but you could never look stupid Rory.” He reached out, squeezing her hand. “Welcome home.” God I've missed her, he thought, keeping hold of her hand, the sensation of feeling her soft and warm skin against his own sending shivers down his spine.  
“It's good to be back.” She beamed. “It was amazing in Mexico, and having Viktor there, seeing as he's been through the initial whirlwind of press interest and knows how to cope with it was great. But I missed having my boyfriend there.” She confided, her eyes sparkling with love as they studied him. “You are my boyfriend right? I mean after last June...” a hint of nervousness glinted in her bright blue eyes.  
A spike of pleasure and contentment at hearing her call him her boyfriend had started coursing through Cedric and he was on the verge of telling her what he'd wanted to tell her all summer, when his mother yelled upstairs “Cedric are you awake yet? You need to get moving!”  
“Come on. I'm dying for another cup of your mother's coffee.” She led the way out of his room. “Mr Jasper, the coach doesn't like the idea of us having caffeine, so there's none allowed in the ground. Dad, Amy and I were reduced to drinking the stuff from this dodgy little place, about five miles away and it was like drinking treacle.” She complained as they entered the kitchen, to see that both of their fathers were eating their way through a plateful of sausage, bacon, beans, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and toast. Catalina was about to ask where Amy and Jasmine were, when the back door opened and the two came in, Amy was carrying a basket of strawberries, a piece of straw stuck in her hair.  
“Maybe that's a sign that you should cut down.” Cedric suggested, slipping into the seat opposite his father. He grabbed the pitcher of orange juice that sat in the middle of the oak table, poured himself a glass and took a long gulp. Amy set the basket down on the worksurface and then sat down next to her father. She took a plate from the stack at the top end of the table, and got herself some eggs, beans, sausages and toast from the large dishes that sat along the middle of the table.  
“She wouldn't be our Rory if she did that. I don't think I've ever seen you forgo your morning cup of coffee, and you've been living here for nearly six years.” Mr Diggory commented, as he put the paper aside.  
“You can't blame the girls for their addiction,” Alexander said, as he finished the last mouthful of his mushrooms. “That's all that sustains us sometimes.”  
“By now you're probably ten percent caffeine and fifty percent water.” Amos smiled at her, as she poured herself a mug full of coffee, before seating herself next to Cedric. He had grabbed two plates, and was fixing a plate for both he and Catalina. He got them both a bit of everything, and then passed one over to her.  
“You're too optimistic dad it's more like thirty percent of each. You didn't see how much she guzzled when we were studying for our OWLS.” Cedric teased her. “I was half expecting her to bypass the drinking, and just have caffeine pumped directly into her veins.”  
“You drank just as much as I did, Mr Clean Living.” Catalina shot back, a soft smile curving her lips. “Besides all the coffee I drank then helped me study hard enough to pass all my OWLS. So I'm not cutting down any time soon.”  
“What grades did you get?” Cedric was curious, and half hoping that he might have got better grades than her.  
“Oh um... I er... I got ten Outstandings and two exceeds Expectations.” She replied, a little sheepishly. “How did you do?”  
“Six outstandings and three Exceeds Expectations.” Cedric told her. “I bet that you came top of the year.”  
“Oh god can you imagine the ribbing George and Fred will give me if I have?” She laughed. “George's already written to me this summer, taking the mick because of all those stupid articles Rita Skeeter wrote about me and Viktor, being more than friends.” She shrugged, munching on her breakfast between words.  
Cedric felt himself relax for the first time since the articles had started appearing. He had trusted her, but a part of him didn't quite believe that somebody as vibrant as Catalina could be interested in being more than friends with him. It was that tiny bit of him, that had caused him to mope around the house, sleeping as much as he could and ignoring the owls from his friends. “Nobody who really knows you would believe it.” Amy commented, as she stood up, taking her now empty plate over to the sink as well as her father's and washing them up.  
Catalina winced mentally, as she felt the renewed confusion coming from Cedric. “Why don't you and Rory take Bartley for a walk?” Amos suggested, as he saw the confusion ghost over his son's face. He was sure that Catalina would talk some sense into his son.  
“Okay.” He grabbed his jacket, and the two of them strolled out of the back door, “Come on Bartley.” He called out as they crossed the back yard. The grey and white Crup came bounding out of his kennel. Cedric attached the lead with difficulty as Bartley gambolled around their feet.  
“So what have you been up to then Ced?” Catalina asked, as she opened the gate, letting Bartley and Cedric out first. “Paddy told me that he kept inviting you to come and stay, but you said that you were busy.” Patrick Summers was one of their fellow Hufflepuffs, and one of Cedric's closest friends.  
“When did you speak to him?” He asked. He had thought that she would have been too busy competing to answer many letters.  
“He wrote to me during the tournament. He was curious about what you could have planned that was keeping you so busy that you couldn't even pop over for the weekend,”  
“I just didn't fancy staying with him.” He shrugged, “Hanging out with just Patrick and Jennifer? No thanks.” The two had started along the wide track that led down to Ottery St Catchpole. Bartley was running ahead, the extendable lead allowing the excitable Crup to nose at various intriguing smells, while Cedric and Catalina strolled gently behind him. Ancient trees grew on either side of them, the leaves meeting and forming a thick green canopy that the sunlight struggled to penetrate. The light dappled across their faces, and the dusty lane that they were walking down.  
“They're not that bad.” Catalina defended Patrick and his girlfriend. “I think they're quite sweet actually. I mean they're definitely opposites, he's a man of few words and she never stops talking. He's a positive thinker, and she's rather pessimistic, but they work. They're clearly nuts about each other.”  
“Or they're just nuts.” Cedric smirked. “They're far too different, it won't work in the long term.”  
“What about us?” She asked. “We're just as different as they are but we make a good team. You're rational, quiet, introspective and lively, and I'm...” Her bright blue eyes sparkled, as a shaft of sunlight came through a gap in the leaves, bringing out the gold strands in her hair at the same time, and Cedric couldn't resist. He leaned in, kissing her firmly, his free hand stroking through her hair, and coming to rest at the nape of her neck.  
“You were saying?” he laughed quietly as he slowly drew back from the kiss, several long moments later. Catalina stared straight back into his eyes, her expression was a little dazed, he smoothed the rumpled strands back over her shoulder. He gently took her right hand, tugging her further along the track so that they could resume their walk.  
“What was that?” she said, when she had finally regained her senses.  
“That was what I meant to do when you woke me up.” He confessed. “You know I'm a bit slow at taking action. I'm sorry...”  
“No apology necessary. It's just...” She sighed. “Just keep kissing me like that and we'll be fine,” She grinned at him, squeezing his hand as they emerged from the wide tree lined track onto the road. Bartley was ten feet ahead of them, sniffing at the tufts of grass around the mile marker. They walked up the grassy verge a little way so that they were completely clear of the traffic.  
“It'll be tough but I think somehow I can manage that.” His voice was filled with amusement, that was also reflected in his eyes. “I'm curious though. How were you going to describe yourself?”  
“Oh... I don't know.” She admitted. “Probably driven by my emotions, rash, chatty and passionate.”  
“I'll agree with most of that but you're not rash. You know what you want and you go after it, that's not a bad thing at all.” He told her. “It's one of the things I envy you actually. I wish I could be more like that.”  
“You already are like that.” She replied. “You just plan for a bit longer that's all.” As they ambled down the lane, several cars passed them, heading into the heart of the village but they didn't take any notice. Bartley's tail had been clipped months before, and he now just resembled a Jack Russell terrier, and they knew that they didn't have to worry about any Muggles spotting them. They were approaching the south end of the village, and Catalina spotted the Weasley's house, it's gabled roofs and misshapen form was quite familiar to her. She had dragged Cedric there enough times, trying to aid the building of a friendship between him and the Weasley twins. She had been friends with George and Fred since the first year, and was also on good terms with the third member of their group, Lee Jordan, enjoying their pranks, and often joining in with them.  
“So where do you want to go?” Cedric asked, as they reached the village proper. “There's Blazing Jake's just down there. We could go for a bite to eat.” He checked his watch, seeing that it was nearly eight o'clock.  
“I don't think it's the best idea to take Bartley into the village, just in case we come across a Muggle. He's still quite aggressive to them, well at least he was before I went to Mexico.” So they turned on their heels and headed back the way they'd come, after pulling Bartley away from a stray drinks can he was investigating. They didn't exactly hurry on the way back, chatting mainly about the World Cup, which was happening the very next day.  
When they arrived back at the Diggories, Cedric let Bartley off his leash inside the yard. “Do you think dinner will be over?” He smirked, as they let themselves into the darkened house.  
“I'd think so.” Catalina found the note propped up against the butter dish on the kitchen table. Cedric and Rory, we've all gone to bed. It's gone ten and we're supposed to be up at two, to get to the Portkey. She yawned, her jet lag finally catching up with her.  
“Come on, we'd better get to bed ourselves.” Cedric wrapped one arm around her waist as they walked upstairs to their rooms. Catalina was exhausted, all the travelling and lack of sleep had suddenly hit her like a sledgehammer, and the last thing she remembered was Cedric catching her as her knees gave way halfway upstairs.


End file.
